finding-brand-ambassador-candidates

Finding Brand Ambassador Candidates

Identifies creators who already post about a brand or product organically — these are the highest-converting ambassador recruits because their content is authentic and their audience trusts them.

Prerequisites

• APIFY_TOKEN environment variable set
• Optional: Apify MCP server installed

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Notes
startUrls	array	✅	[]	Instagram URLs — profiles, hashtags, locations, audio pages, reels
until	string	Optional	—	Scrape posts until this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
maxItems	number	Optional	Unlimited	Maximum posts to return
customMapFunction	string	Optional	—	JavaScript function to transform each output object

Workflow

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Search brand hashtags on both platforms
- [ ] Step 2: Identify repeat posters
- [ ] Step 3: Score ambassador fit
- [ ] Step 4: Check for competing partnerships
- [ ] Step 5: Deliver ranked ambassador pipeline

Step 1: Search Brand Mentions

Instagram:

Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~instagram-scraper"
Input: {"keywords": ["#[brand]", "#[brand]review", "#[brand]community", "#[brandproduct]"], "maxItems": 200}

TikTok:

Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~tiktok-scraper"
Input: {"keywords": ["#[brand]", "#[brand]review", "#[brand]tiktokmademebuyit"], "maxItems": 300}

Recommended — run_actor.js (handles waiting, output, and file saving automatically):

# Quick answer (prints table to chat)
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~instagram-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}'

# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~instagram-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.csv --format csv

# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~instagram-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.json --format json

APIFY_TOKEN must be set in environment or .env file.

REST API fallback:

# Instagram
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~instagram-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN"   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"keywords": ["#[brand]", "#[brand]review"], "maxItems": 200}'

Step 2: Score Ambassador Fit

For each repeat poster (appeared ≥ 2 times):

ambassador_score = (post_count / 5) * 0.25                             # organic depth
                 + (engagement_rate / 5.0) * 0.30                      # audience quality
                 + (has_competing_sponsor ? 0 : 1) * 0.25              # exclusivity signal
                 + (follower_count in 1000..50000 ? 1 : 0.6) * 0.20   # partnership tier

Competing sponsor check: Scan last 20 posts for #ad or #sponsored with a brand that competes in the same category. If found: has_competing_sponsor = true.

Step 3: Edge Cases

• Brand's own reposts appear in hashtag: Drop posts where ownerUsername = brand account
• Repeat poster is a bot: Check: ratio of followers/following ≤ 0.1 AND recent posts are all different brands — likely a spam/bot account
• Low brand mention specificity: Creator mentions the brand once in passing — not a genuine advocate; require at least one post that is primarily about the brand
• Creator already in ambassador program: No reliable way to detect this via scraping; note this as a known limitation — outreach will reveal it

Output Format

# Brand Ambassador Pipeline: [BRAND/PRODUCT]
Creators found: [N] | Repeat advocates: [N] | High-fit: [N] | Date: [DATE]

## Tier 1 — High-Fit Ambassadors (Multiple Organic Posts)
| Creator | Platform | @Handle | Followers | Eng Rate | Brand Posts | Competing Sponsor | Score |
|---------|---------|---------|-----------|----------|------------|------------------|-------|
| [name] | IG/TT | @[handle] | [N] | [X%] | [N] | [Yes/No] | [0.XX] |

## Tier 2 — Early Advocates (1-2 Brand Posts)
| Creator | Platform | Followers | Brand Posts | Eng Rate |
|---------|---------|-----------|------------|----------|

## Outreach Angle
For each Tier 1 creator, note: their most engaging brand post — reference it in outreach.

Troubleshooting

Brand hashtag has too few posts: Brand may have low organic social presence — search product category hashtags and look for anyone mentioning brand by name in caption. All high-fit creators already have competing sponsors: Indicates the category is saturated. Consider offering an exclusive deal to a mid-tier creator to lock out competition. No repeat posters found: Brand lacks loyal vocal advocates — this itself is a finding. Consider product seeding to build an organic advocate base before formal ambassador program launch.